UTD, Richland College to Sign Admission
Agreement Targeted at Engineering Students

Officials Hope to Ease Critical Shortage of Engineers in Texas

RICHARDSON, Texas (Feb. 11, 2004) — Officials
from The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) and Richland College of the Dallas County Community
College District are scheduled to meet this morning to sign an admission agreement that would facilitate
the transfer of students who desire to pursue a degree in electrical engineering from Richland College
to UTD.

A signing ceremony is set for 11 a.m. in the McDermott
Library on the UTD campus in Richardson.

Under the agreement, students who successfully earn
an associate degree in science with an engineering emphasis from Richland College will be automatically
eligible to transfer to UTD, where they would pursue a B.S. degree in electrical engineering in the
Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science.

Those entering the program could be "co-admitted" to
both institutions and provided special advising regarding UTD's core curriculum and degree requirements.
Faculty and staff at the Jonsson School have worked with their counterparts at the community college
to ensure that Richland's course offerings meet the standards established by the Accreditation Board
for Engineering and Technology, Inc. (ABET) - the organization which accredits higher educational
programs in applied science, computing, engineering and technology - and match those taken by students
at UTD. In addition, Richland College has initiated the process of having its pre-engineering program
accredited by ABET.

Richland College officials have budgeted funds to equip
two of the school's laboratories to match the quality of UTD engineering labs during the current
fiscal year.

"This is a new and exciting chapter in the lengthy
history of cooperation and collaboration between UTD and the Dallas County Community College District," said
UTD President Dr. Franklyn Jenifer. "The signing of this agreement will help establish a pipeline
of qualified young people entering the engineering program at UTD, who, within a few short years,
will begin to impact the shortage of electrical engineering graduates in Dallas County and throughout
the State of Texas."

"This is a wonderful opportunity for students
desiring admission to UTD's engineering program who are unable to enter UTD as freshmen," added
Richland College President Dr. Stephen K. Mittelstet. "Research demonstrates that Richland's
UTD transfer students compete on a par with UTD's other juniors and seniors. Now, this new curriculum
enables Richland students to transfer into UTD's engineering program as juniors."

Under the agreement, students who follow program
requirements, including earning a grade point average of at least 2.5 on a 4.0 scale, can transfer
62 credit hours as a block to UTD. The students must then earn at least 66 upper-division hours at
UTD to graduate, including at least 30 upper-division hours in residence at UTD.

Under that scenario, a student who didn't qualify for
admission to UTD, or perhaps couldn't afford to attend a four-year university, could enroll at Richland
to take two years of lower-division courses, then - provided all requirements are met - transfer
to the university to finish his or her undergraduate education.

Students would be eligible to apply for transfer and
other types of scholarships at UTD. Those students who apply for, and receive, a UTD identification
card, known as a "Comet Card," will have access to university libraries and be able to
purchase student guest tickets to athletic and other events on campus.

UTD signed a similar agreement with the Dallas County
Community College District in 2000, which will remain in force. Like the new agreement, the 2000
pact seeks to create links between UTD and local two-year colleges and smooth the process of student
transfers. However, the agreement to be signed today is specific to UTD's Jonsson School and Richland
College.

About UTD

The University of Texas at Dallas,
located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational
technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor®, enrolls more than 13,700 students. The
school's freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms
of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor's, master's and doctoral
degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university's web site at www.utdallas.edu .

About Richland College

For more than 30 years, Richland College of the Dallas
County Community College District has served the communities of Richardson, Garland and North Dallas. Richland
helps students build their futures through the first two years of a baccalaureate degree, one-or two-year
certificates in a number of career fields, and training in the latest technology to advance in their current
careers. Enrolling more than 14,000 college credit students and 9,000 continuing education students, Richland's
internationally and ethnically diverse students speak more than 90 first languages. Visit www.richlandcollege.edu
for more information.